The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 01, 2025
Filed:
Aug. 27, 2021
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Hsinchu, TW;
Kai-Chieh Chang, Changhua, TW;
Che-Chang Hsu, Taichung, TW;
Yen-Shuo Su, Hsinchu, TW;
Chun-Lin Chang, Zhubei, TW;
Kai-Fa Ho, New Taipei, TW;
Li-Jui Chen, Hsinchu, TW;
Heng-Hsin Liu, New Taipei, TW;
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Hsinchu, TW;
Abstract
An exposure tool is configured to remove contaminants and/or prevent contamination of mirrors and/or other optical components included in the exposure tool. In some implementations, the exposure tool is configured to flush and/or otherwise remove contaminants from an illuminator, a projection optics box, and/or one or more other subsystems of the exposure tool using a heated gas such as ozone (O) or extra clean dry air (XCDA), among other examples. In some implementations, the exposure tool is configured to provide a gas curtain (or gas wall) that includes hydrogen (H) or another type of gas to reduce the likelihood of contaminants reaching the mirrors included in the exposure tool. In this way, the mirrors and one or more other components of the exposure tool are cleaned and maintained in a clean environment in which radiation absorbing contaminants are controlled to increase the performance of the exposure tool.